When you are in accord with someone else, you are in agreement or harmony with her.

If you acquiesce to something, you allow something to happen or you do something that someone wants without putting up a struggle or voicing your own concerns.

An affable person is someone pleasant, friendly, and easy to talk to.

If you have an affiliation with a group or another person, you are officially involved or connected with them.

An amicable person is very friendly and agreeable towards others.

Amity is a peaceful friendship between two parties, particularly between two countries.

If something or someone is anathema to you, such as a cursed person or object, you very strongly dislike it or even hate it.

When something is ancillary to something else it means it supports it but is less important than that which it supports.

If you have animus against someone, you have a strong feeling of dislike or hatred towards that person, often without a really good reason or simply based on your personal prejudices.

Your antagonist is an opponent in a competition or battle.

Antipathy is a strong feeling of dislike or hostility towards someone or something.

If you are bellicose you behave in an aggressive way and are likely to start an argument or fight.

A belligerent person or country is hostile, aggressive, very unfriendly, and prone to fight.

If you describe someone as benign it means that she is kind, gentle, and harmless.

Bonhomie is a friendly feeling among a group of people.

A cadre is a group especially trained to lead, formalize, and accomplish a particular task, or to train others as part of a larger organization; it can also be used to describe an elite military force.

A captious person has a fondness for catching others at fault, being overly critical, and raising objections.

To carp at someone is to complain about her to her face, or to nag and criticize her in a whining voice.

To cavil is to make unnecessary complaints about things that are unimportant.

A coalition is a temporary union of different political or social groups who agree to work together to achieve a shared aim.

If you are complaisant you are willing to please others and do what they want without complaining.

A congenial person, place, or environment is pleasant, friendly, and enjoyable.

When someone is contentious he is argumentative and likely to provoke a fight.

To contravene a law or rule is to do something that is not allowed or forbidden by that law, rule, or agreement.

A situation that is discordant does not fit with other things and is therefore disagreeable, strange, or unpleasant.

Dissension is a disagreement or conflict of opinion amongst a group of people.

Something that is divisive is likely to cause arguments between people.

Empathy is the ability to understand how people feel because you can imagine what it is to be like them.

If something exacerbates a problem or bad situation it makes it even worse.

A small group or issue which is factious is controversial and promotes strong disagreement or dissatisfaction within a larger group.

When two people are in a harmonious state they are in agreement with each other; when a sound is harmonious it is pleasant or agreeable to the ear.

If you are incompatible with someone you do not get along or are unable to cooperate with that person and so are in conflict with him.

Something innocuous is not likely to offend or harm anyone.

Malice is the strong desire to harm someone physically or emotionally because you hate him.

If you have a nemesis it is an opponent or archrival who cannot be beaten, or is a source of ruin that causes your downfall.

Something that is propitious shows favorable conditions.

A protagonist is the main character in a play, novel, or real event such as a battle or struggle.

If two people have a good rapport, they have a good understanding of and can communicate well with each other.

Rapprochement is the development of greater understanding and friendliness between two countries or groups of people after a period of unfriendly relations.

A truculent person is bad-tempered, easily annoyed, and likely to argue a lot.

In a unanimous decision about something all people involved agree or are united in their opinion.

To do something in unison is to do it all together at one time.

Vitriolic words or deeds are bitter, unkind, and very mean-spirited.

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Noun

adversary

AD-ver-ser-ee

Context

The greatest adversary or enemy of Spiderman was arguably Dr. Octopus. This adversary or dreaded opponent of Peter Parker always tried to mess up his plans to do good in the city of New York. Imagine an adversary who attacks you with eight very powerful tentacles, and you may come to understand just how powerful a foe Dr. Octopus was.

Word Ingredients

An adversary is one who is “turned towards” another in a conflict or contest.

Word Theater

Lois and Clark Superman and Lex Luther are classic comic book adversaries.

The panel shows a small video clip of either the word in actual use or a scene that represents the meaning of a word. This not only breaks up the monotony of studying words but also provides another avenue to strengthen word meaning. Enjoy!